


A Description of the So-Called “Old Kingdom Almanac”

by Northland



Category: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: Books, Gen, Magical Artifacts, Treat, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-15 06:52:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10551932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northland/pseuds/Northland
Summary: The writer of this report was only allowed to view the book under the direct supervision of Queen Sabriel or another member of the royal family.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shopfront](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/gifts).



**SECRET**  
  
Prepared by Alexander Marsh  
Records Officer  
Ministry of Foreign Relations, Ancelstierre 

The writer of this report was only allowed to view the book under the direct supervision of Queen Sabriel or another member of the royal family. No destructive testing was permitted on the binding or paper. Due to these restrictions, I can say nothing about the physical composition of the volume other than the following surface observations. No copying was permitted either, although I was able to memorize the contents of one entry, which is reproduced as an appendix.

**Appearance**

It is a crown octavo-sized volume, roughly 7½ by 5 inches and three-quarters of an inch thick. 

The binding appears original (i.e. contemporary with the date of printing) and is of blue leather, most likely calfskin, continuously debossed with small keys. These were presumably filled with silver leaf at one point judging by the traces that remain in some of the impressions.

The text is in a serif type which does not match any known historic examples. It was printed in black ink on thick rag paper by letterpress which has left distinct impressions. While this implies that other copies may have been produced at the same time, no other copy or edition of this work is known to Ancelstierran scholars. 

The Queen says she has no knowledge of the volume’s provenance or age, stating that she received it as a gift from her father upon the occasion of Her Majesty’s thirteenth birthday.

**Contents**

No author, imprint, or edition statement appears on the title page or verso. The only statement on the recto is the following (NB all spelling throughout this description reproduced exactly as printed):

_ An Almanack  _

_ of  _

_ Some Common Correspondences  _

_ between  _

_ the Ancient Kingdom and Ancelstieere _

There are 192 unnumbered pages with no table of contents or index. The entries are arranged by season and then by phase of the moon. The notations for Ancelstierre appear on the verso, or left-hand page; those for the Old Kingdom on the recto. 

Many unsigned handwritten annotations, in different hands and inks, appear throughout. They do not merely expand on the printed entries, but often contradict them. 

The volume itself is of some interest to collectors, but not of a high monetary value. However, the information contained therein would be invaluable to the Perimeter Crossing Guards and quite possibly to other military units as well. 

The writer suggests opening negotiations with Queen Sabriel in the hope of obtaining her permission to reproduce the text (suggested classification level “Most Secret”). If Her Majesty’s permission cannot be obtained, the government may wish to consider alternate means of acquisition.

* 

**Appendix: Sample Entry**

SUMMER  
Third full moon  | SUMMER  
Third full moon   
---|---  
  |    
**Ancelstieerre** |  **Anct Kingdom**  
  |    
High summer  
Hot, humid  
Many biting insects in bogs and marshes  | Often late spring (mild, roses in bloom)  
Sometime corn harvest (hot and still, thunderstorms)  
  
[Annotation in faded brown ink beside the previous line:  
_Dangerous to cross Wall at Noon on these days_ ]   
  
  


End file.
